There may have been a second person involved in the Monday morning shooting death of 24-year-old Devon Coates at an apartment near Yorktown Middle School.
The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office arrested 28-year-old William E. Burks of Lackey Monday evening and charged him with second degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and wearing body armor while committing a crime. Witness testimony described in documents filed with the York-Poquoson General District Court suggest a second person was involved.
Burks remains the only person arrested and charged in connection to the shooting. He is being held without bond at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
The shooting took place at the Yorktown Square apartments on Barham Boulevard in the Lackey area of York County.
According to the documents filed by investigators that provided a summary of their interviews with people connected to the case, Coates was playing the video game “Call of Duty” with his wife, Holly Coates, and a friend when they heard the screen door of their apartment open with force. They paused the game, and Coates went downstairs to see who was at the door. Shortly thereafter, Coates’ wife and the friend heard Coates yelling for help from the friend.
The friend said he saw two black males standing in the doorway of the apartment. Coates was in an altercation with one of them and was trying to restrain him against the door. The friend said he then heard a pop and saw Coates fall to the ground in a fetal position. The person he was fighting with wore a bullet proof vest over a dark shirt. The two men then ran off while Holly Coates and the friend called 911. Devon Coates, who was shot right below his heart, died shortly thereafter.
One person told investigators that Coates had been selling marijuana up until a week before the shooting. That person said Coates stopped because he lost his job and needed to clean out to pass a drug test in case his next employer required one. His wife said he had no known enemies or debts.
Some of the people interviewed also said there had been more people than usual hanging out in the breezeway outside the apartment.
Investigators found a bullet-proof vest and a .380 handgun in a field near Coates’ apartment building. They also found a .380 shell casing at the scene of the murder.
During the investigation on Monday, Burks called the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office and said he wanted to come in and talk so that he could clear his name. The statements he offered were inconsistent with what investigators had learned from talking to other people. He did admit that he had been wearing a bullet-proof vest because he was afraid of being shot and that as a convicted felon, he could not possess a weapon.
When investigators confronted him about the inconsistencies they noted in his story, he invoked his right to remain silent, according to court documents. Deputies then charged him.
Burks spent nine years in prison from a 2004 incident in York County that resulted in a slew of charges, including attempted malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and destruction of private property.
Burks will next appear in court at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 20.
